There are a variety of different spacers for glass blocks. U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,337 issued to Neuhardt discloses use of a plate located at either end of the spacer and attached to locating arms of the spacer by a frangible connector. Although the plates are a much more reliable means of positioning the spacer since they depend upon the face edge and exterior faces of the wall which are accurately located, removing the plates themselves without dislodging are damaging the joint is difficult. Because the faces and face edges are used to accurately position the spacer, the crossed arms are necessarily positioned close to the face. Thus, there is 1/8 of an inch or less from the crossed arms in which to rework the mortar. Any pieces or splinters left from twisting off a tapered interconnecting member affixing respective plates to the crossed arms will interfere with the proper re-working of the mortar along the joints.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,725 issued to Bruce et al. discloses a spacer which is positioned by engagement of a central groove with the central bead of the glass blocks. Since the central beads are irregular and unreliable as a positioning reference, this kind of spacer can not be accurately positioned in all cases.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,793 issued to Mayer discloses a spacer for glass block walls or panels which fits into the channel between the two face edges. However, the channels of glass blocks are not fabricated to any standard but can vary significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer. At present there are no less than eight manufacturers selling glass blocks in the United States. Thus, the spacing between blocks using the spacers of Mayer will not always meet the accepted industry standard spacing of 1/4 inch.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,119,567 and 5,191,718 also disclose the use of locating plates at either end of the spacer. However, it is necessary to straighten wires which are initially bent to hold the spacer members held together by a thin wire tie. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to straighten the wire sufficiently to allow it to be pulled through the spacer members when taking off the latter. The plates are intrusive and their removal often causes movement of the blocks and disturbance of the mortar.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,314 issued to Chen discloses circular disks affixed by a frangible connection to crossed locating arms at either end of the spacer. The disks have a radially disposed rectangular elongate twisting bar which serves as a means by which a user can grip the disk and rotate it until the frangible connection shears off. However, the location and size of the twisting bar makes it difficult for a user to grip the bar and to rotate the disk without applying a translational force to the spacer, causing it to move and disrupt the integrity of the joint. Moreover, the frangible connection has a tendency to be difficult to break and to leave splinters when it is removed which extend into the outer area of the mortar.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved spacer for constructing a wall with glass blocks. It is a further object to provide a spacer with plate that can be easily removed after the wall is formed.